Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer has been accused by the Trump campaign of encouraging assassination attempts against the president after displaying “86 45” in the background of an interview on NBC on Sunday.
During an interview on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” Democrat Governor Gretchen Whitmer spoke from Lansing, Michigan about her state’s COVID restrictions, which of course included slamming President Trump‘s response to the pandemic.
The numbers “86 45” appeared on the coffee table behind her in bubble letters. These numbers drew a response from one of the Trump campaign’s Twitter accounts:
— Trump War Room (@TrumpWarRoom) October 18, 2020
“Governor Gretchen Whitmer displayed an ’86 45′ sign during her TV appearance. 86 can be shorthand for killing someone,” Trump War Room tweeted.
“Whitmer is encouraging assassination attempts against President Trump just weeks after someone sent a ricin-laced package to the White House,” the campaign added, referring to an event which happened shortly after the passing of Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, where the Secret Service and the FBI intercepted an envelope addressed to the White House that contained the deadly poison ricin.
According to Fox News, “A woman from Quebec was arrested at the U.S.-Canada border days later and is now facing federal charges in connection to the case.”
In a statement to Fox News, Deputy National Press Secretary for the Trump campaign Courtney Parella said: “By Gretchen Whitmer’s own standard, displaying something encouraging people to ‘86’ the President is employing dangerous rhetoric.”
Wikipedia Changing Definitions for Democrats
Though it is not clear what Governor Whitmer meant by “86 45,” colloquially the number “86” is slang for canceling someone, killing someone, or ejecting someone from a bar or restaurant. The number “45” refers to President Trump, as he is the 45th president of the United States.
From the screenshot added to the Trump campaign tweet, the Wikipedia page for “86” shows that it can mean “killing someone.” As soon as the Trump campaign pointed this out, the Wikipedia page was edited to remove that definition. The site also removed many pop culture references where “86” is used to mean killing someone.
https://twitter.com/ali/status/1318271721200406528
https://twitter.com/hamuel68/status/1318150777559535617
This is the second time in less than a week that major companies changed the definitions of words to benefit the Democrats, with the first instance being Merriam-Webster Dictionary changing the definition of “sexual preference.”
More information about the Wikipedia edit can be found in YouTube commentator Tim Pool’s video breaking down the incident:
